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Student painting of a large yellow sunflower

Visual Arts

The Art Department at Brearley provides a supportive and structured environment in which students are given solid training at every step of an increasingly independent creative journey. Lower School girls are introduced to a variety of media and tools through projects that are both playful and thought-provoking. The Middle and Upper Schools draw inspiration from the world of art throughout history, honing the girls’ skills in observation and execution as they cultivate individual expression and analytical understanding.

A student sitting on a bench at the Metropolitan Museum of Art focusing on her own drawing

A Range of Opportunities

Extracurricular art activities include photography, sculpture, drawing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sewing in a relaxed and self-motivated atmosphere. Juniors and seniors may participate in intensive art electives to pursue their interests in depth and prepare portfolios for college admission.

Studio art is offered to all students starting in Class I. Trimester classes for Class IV range from printmaking to Photoshop and 3-D printing; Class V student take woodworking, ceramics and darkroom photography. Upper School students can expand their regular studio art practice with independent studies in each medium.

A student collage of large brown, yellow and red leaves overlapping on a gray background
A young artist's painting/collage of a bear
A student painting of a brightly colored fish.
A student pencil drawing of what looks like a site holding ancient ruins
A student made sc
A student made sculpture that looks like a sea shell
A sculpture of an insect using paper mache for the body and brightly colored wings done in pen and ink.
An art project of an insect with paper mache body and brightly colored wings
A portrait of an young woman clapping her hand over her mouth.
An abstract paiting in various shades of purple and blue with wisps of white throughout.
A student mixed media painting of a man with a headdress standing in front of a flag.
A student painting that is a portrait of a young girl
A painting of a small person standing in front of large rocks in a barren landscape
A painting of a sculpted torso
A student painting of a disembodied hand looming over a dark street
A student painting of ocean waves hitting rocks
A student art project  of a black and white photograph of girl in a radio flyer wagon pulled by a giant hand
A student art project of a vase of dying flowers
Student watercolor painting of a potted plant
Student painting of a large yellow sunflower
Student photograph of a woman in a red coat holding lit sparklers with smoke billowing from them
A collage image of a girl sitting with her arms in the air with various patterns and images creating the outline of her body
A colorfully decorated frog sculpture
An art project of a landscape with the reflection of a full moon housed in the negative space of a crescent moon
An art project of an insect with one set of blue wings and one set of red wings
An art project exploring patterns and colors, including blues, yellows and oranges
Art project exploring patters and colors

Celebrating the Imagination

Our goal is to give each girl the confidence to express herself visually and to design assignments so that all students enjoy participating in the creative process. The work of every art student is celebrated through displays around the school, in the school calendar and at an annual comprehensive art exhibition.

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